


A man or a monster

by MissHellfire666



Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Angel Wings, Case Fic, Devil Face (Lucifer TV), Drama, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Roller Coaster, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Heartbreak, Identity Issues, Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer TV) Devil Reveal, Romance, Slow Burn, True Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-16
Updated: 2020-02-19
Packaged: 2020-05-13 02:55:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19242394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissHellfire666/pseuds/MissHellfire666
Summary: Lucifer Morningstar is the actual Devil! Chloe Decker is desperately trying to find a way to forget the red hellfire eyes and to deal with the new insights about her partner. A new, mysterious death finally forces them to work together again. But when they discover that the murder is a clear warning against Lucifer, the Devil’s life starts to flip upside down. He must not only fight for his mostly immortal life, but also with thoughts of self-doubt and guilt - thoughts that threaten to tear him apart. Can Chloe protect him from his own monstrous side and from the imminent danger they suddenly find themselves in? (Set after S3 finale)





	1. It's all true

**Author's Note:**

> Hey Lucifans,  
> I started to translate another project of mine. The story is called 'a man or a monster'. You can find the German written story [here ](https://www.fanfiktion.de/s/5c57436a00078dfc33448bb5/1/A-Man-or-a-Monster)
> 
> This story is set after the season 3 finale, dealing with ideas of how I thought the story might continue. There will be some parallels to S4, but mostly it's my own version. I started to write this story before season 4 was released. Therefore, Eve won't appear and Father Kinley will be a little different from the show. I really hope you like it nonetheless. Please feel free to leave me a comment. I'd love to get feedback :-)
> 
> Have fun!

Chloe Decker dove down the marble stone staircase in the old art museum. Her heart was racing too fast and beating way too loud in her chest, while she was taking several steps at once. Her thoughts were solely focused on Lucifer Morningstar. He‘d rescued her from Pierce and left her on the rooftop of the building to face the man who had betrayed them all.

Her thoughts were too shaken up to explain to herself rationally how they‘d made it to that roof alive, or how Lucifer had simply disappeared from one second to the next. It didn‘t really matter at this point, because the only important thing was to bridge the never-ending steps to help her partner. The gun shots were still ringing loudly in her ears and the fear for his life made her stomach turn.

Chloe stumbled as she missed one of the steps, stepping into the air instead. Only her firm grip on the railing allowed her to catch herself. Cursing, she took the last corner. The marble steps widened to the foot of the ground floor, but Chloe only had eyes for the scenery in the center of the room. Breathing heavily, she nearly jumped down the last steps when she recognized Lucifer in his black designer suit, squatting in front of a lifeless body. He‘d turned his back towards her, hands resting lightly on the floor and head lowered slightly.

He was alive!

He seemed to be fine!

Out of pure relief Chloe almost uttered a hysterical scream, but it got stuck in her throat when she realized whose body was lying before his feet. The green-plaid shirt and the dark-blond hair she could spot next to Lucifer were some pretty clear indications.

Lieutenant Marcus Pierce!

Chloe reached the end of the stone staircase. The chaos and destruction surrounding them was alarming. Statues and old boxes had crashed, covering the white ground. She immediately recognized numerous bullet holes in the walls that suggested a brutal fight. But it was the blood-soaked feathers that got Chloe to the brink of a nervous breakdown.

How could that even be? That was impossible!

She slowed her pace. "Lucifer?"

The man in front of her stirred.

"Lucifer!" she repeated his name, coming to a halt a few steps away from him.

Slowly her partner rose from his squat. At first she could only make out a red scalp, but as Lucifer turned to her fully, her heart stopped beating for an endless moment. She was staring right into the face of a _monster_. Deep bulging scars stretched across his red face. All his hair had disappeared - burned away - and his eyes... his usually warm and dark brown eyes were glowing in a fiery red now, revealing a truth she‘d tried to suppress for months, maybe even years.

He was... he was the...

Her mind wasn’t able to stand the new knowledge, just like her body. She wasn‘t even able to _think_ what she was seeing in front of her eyes. Stiff and in shock, her fingers gripped the sides of her light blue jacket.

_The Devil! Lucifer Morningstar was the actual Devil!_

Chloe gasped, fighting the sheer sense of fear that was taking over her body. She didn‘t know how, but she managed to open her mouth. "It's all true," she breathed, eyes wide-opened in horror.

"Detective?" He sounded confused, almost questioning. She recognized the familiar voice timbre, which at that moment didn‘t want to match the face she was staring at.

"It's all true," Chloe repeated in disbelief. Finally the implications of what she’d vocalized reached her mind. She raised her right hand in panic, stumbling back a few steps. Her primal instincts took over and a wave of fear, angst and bitter realization burst over her. Her whole body started to shake. Her knees were about to give way. Every fiber of her being was screaming to turn around and run away from the man that had once been her partner. But at the same time, she felt her body quit its service. The shaking of her muscles increased. Reluctantly, she took another step back and stumbled against the bottom step of the stairs.

Finally she succeeded in tearing her gaze away from the red-glowing eyes that burned to the very bottom of her soul.

"Detective?" Lucifer's voice was hesitant. He brought his hands to his face, gently stroking his cheeks and trying to touch the hair that was no longer there. Despite her panic and the fear that catapulted her body to the brink of functionality, she was clearly aware of the moment when Lucifer realized what was going on. With eyes widened in shock, he raised his hands in front of his body.

The jerking motion almost caused her a heart attack. Out of an instinct, Chloe lurched farther back. Unfortunately, she‘d forgotten the step in her back, so she stumbled and lost her balance, getting a hold at the railing just in time, before falling to the ground.

„ _Chloe_!“

Her name! In despair and anguish, he called her by her name. Contrary to all her instincts, Chloe stopped in motion. She closed her eyes and bit on her tongue. Even with her eyelids closed, she could see his eyes in her head. Like hellfire, they were burning through her mind, chasing her and making her forget everything decent about her partner.

"Lucifer," she stuttered his name again. "I ..." Her voice broke. She wanted to ask him what had happened. She wanted to ask him how this could be true. She wanted…

But instead, her overly human instincts continued to take control. It was some kind of self-protection to shield herself from the divine revelation that accompanied Lucifer's true identity.

His deep, throaty sigh let Chloe open her eyes. He took a cautious step towards her, hands still placatingly raised. "Please, Detective," he croaked.

Chloe didn‘t know what he wanted her to do, but out of an impulse, she fled another step up the stair. "Please stay where you are!" she gasped.

Her partner, the Devil, instantly stopped moving. She could see him dropping his shoulders. A stifling depression took possession of him while he lowered his head and let his hands fall limply to his sides.

"The lieutenant is defeated," he explained cautiously.

Chloe's gaze wandered to the lifeless body behind Lucifer. One of Maze‘s knifes stuck deep into Pierce's chest. Blood had discolored the green-checked shirt around the puncture spot. Had Lucifer really killed him?

A new wave of fear flowed through her body. Her stomach began to rebel, and panic was creeping up her spine.

Chloe swallowed hard, trying to avert the oncoming panic attack that was about to crash over her. She couldn’t allow her body to collapse now. Not here! Not in _his_ presence. Terrified, she closed her eyes and forced herself to take a deep breath.

A strange sound came to her ear. It almost sounded like...

It sounded like a giant bird flying through the air.

Her eyes flew open.

He was gone! Only two small feathers, floating through the air, confirmed what had just happened. Lucifer Morningstar had _flown away_. The feathers belonged to him. He really must have wings.

That thought in combination with the overwhelming insights were washing over her, forcing her to her knees. Panting, she slumped to the ground, knees pulled up to her body.

It was all true. Everything was fucking true!

The initial skepticism about what might have happened had turned into a deep acknowledgment. Lucifer must have flown them to the rooftop with his angel wings when they‘d been attacked by Pierce and his men. The force of the bullet she’d been struck by had briefly robbed her of consciousness, but all the bloody feathers in the main hall and on the roof were confirmation enough. Lucifer had rescued her from the hail of bullets and he’d really flown her to the roof before leaving her to fight the lieutenant, killing him in the process.

_The Devil had saved her._

"Oh my God, Chloe!" an excited female voice suddenly sounded. It was Ella Lopez. She dashed through the entrance, running straight towards her, past the corpse of Pierce.

"Chloe! Chloe! Oh my God! What happened?" Ella had reached her, crouching down. Without waiting, she wrapped her arms around Chloe's upper body.

The detective couldn‘t suppress the flood of emotions any longer. The dam broke with full force and she sobbed, hard. Tears filled her eyes, running down her cheeks like an uncontrollable stream that mutated into a raging river in seconds.

Trembling, she pressed herself against her friend, who stroked her back reassuringly. "Schhhhhh! Everything‘s going to be okay. Dan and I are here now. He called for backup after your phone call, because we were so worried about you guys."

Chloe sobbed again. "Marcus," she stuttered flatly. "He's dead. It's over."

"And Lucifer?" Ella asked worriedly.

Chloe's entire body stiffened at the mention of his name. "He is alive," she pressed out, tasting the fluid of salty tears as some of it wetted her mouth.

"Where is he? Is he injured?" Ella wanted to know. She misinterpreted her posture completely, but Chloe didn’t have the strength to tell her friend the truth. What should she say anyway? That her partner - the man she'd worked with for the last few years, and her friend, whom she'd kissed recently - was the Devil?

"Gone," she answered vaguely instead.

"Chloe! I'm really worried here." Ella leaned back to meet her eyes. "What happened? Why is Lucifer gone? And why are there bloody feathers lying everywhere on the ground?"

Chloe's heartbeat stopped again. How should she explain what had happened? How could she explain that Lucifer had won against a whole pack of armed men? And the feathers...

Her mind began to spin and out of pure desperation, she buried her face in her hands.

"Shhhhhh, it‘s alright. You don‘t have to tell me now," Ella tried to reassure her. "Let's take you home first. You're not hurt, are you?"

Weakly Chloe shook her head and let her friend pull her to her feet. On autopilot she staggered towards the exit of the building, deliberately avoiding taking another look at Pierce's corpse. She just wanted to go home, curling up into a ball under her blanket.

The two women had just reached the exit when Dan stormed in with an alarmed look in his eyes. "Chlo! Oh my God! Are you hurt? Are you all right?"

She had no strength left to answer her ex-husband's questions and was more than happy when Ella helpfully jumped aside. "She is unhurt, Dan! Just help me bring her home!"

His pained expression demanded answers, but he nodded, gently reaching for Chloe's upper arm to lead her to his car.

 

********

 

Chloe stood in her bathroom and stared at the reflection in her mirror. Her ponytail had loosened, single strands of hair were hanging in her face, her eyes were swollen from the tears she‘d shed, and her skin was slightly flushed. Of course, the red color wasn‘t at all comparable to the infernal intensity with which Lucifer had looked at her.

He was the Devil! Even now, neither her body nor her mind were ready to accept the fact. The last few hours felt like a terrible nightmare. Maybe she‘d just fantasized about everything? Maybe she would wake up from this goddamn dream at any moment?

It was a desirable idea, but deep inside, Chloe knew it was the truth. Marcus had betrayed them all. He’d even wanted to kill them, and then there was Lucifer...

Powerless, she leaned against the edge of the sink. Her gaze fell on her right hand, in which she was clutching one of the blood-soaked feathers. She‘d grabbed it on the way out and never let go. This feather was the proof that she hadn‘t gone mad, that she wasn‘t fantasizing and that everything had to be true.

Her body started to shake again. An unpleasant coldness crept down her back, making her blood run cold. Completely exhausted, Chloe put the feather on the sideboard next to the sink and got rid of her dirty clothes. The bulletproof vest with the hole made her falter for a long moment. Marcus' accomplice had shot her and catapulted her straight into the arms of Lucifer. She would have been dead now if she hadn‘t worn that vest.

Swallowing hard, Chloe dropped the clothes to the floor and entered the rectangular shower to her side. She turned on the water and walked under the hot stream. The warmth was soothing, displacing some of the icy chill that had taken possession of her body.

Chloe closed her eyes, putting her head under the running water. Immediately Lucifer's eyes jumped back into her mind, forcing her to gasp. How could all this be true? How could he really be the actual Devil? And why did it take her so long to find out? Long-suppressed memories flooded her mind.

 

_Chloe was standing in an old warehouse, gun stretched away from her body, ready to shoot. Lucifer had turned his back to her in his black leather jacket, looking threateningly on a pleading and frightened woman. It was Lindsay, the girlfriend of the Players Club owner, who had tried to trick him with her fake kidnapping and even tried to kill him._

_Chloe had seen something that night - a red-shimmering reflection in a shiny metal plate. It had only been there for the brink of an eye, but nevertheless an unpleasant shiver had run down her spine._

_"Who are you?" she asked._

_Lucifer turned to her. His scowl made her correct her question. "What are you?"_

_He tilted his head. "I've been trying to tell you. I‘m the Devil."_

_Chloe shook her head in disbelief. "That‘s… that‘s not possible."_

_"I assure you, Detective, it is. You‘ve said yourself, there are things you can‘t explain."_

 

Chloe's hands clenched into fists. She squeezed so hard her fingernails pierced her skin. The warm water had lost its comforting effect and her body began to tremble again.

 

_Chloe was walking down the street to the murder scene next to Lucifer. "Two days ago, you were shot point-blank," she said accusingly._

_Lucifer grinned, turning to her as they walked. "Ah. Well, no reason to thank me for my heroism. Well, maybe a little. No one‘s stopping you.“_

_She grabbed him by the upper arm and prevented him from walking further. "There was blood all over you. You should be dead."_

_"Oh, par for the course for our adventures. What’s new?" he asked back._

_Chloe paused, raising her finger accusingly. "I have a sample of your blood and I’m gonna take it and test it."_

_"Oh," her partner said with mock surprise._

_She ignored his provocation. "And I'm gonna find out exactly what you are once and for all."_

_Lucifer grinned. "The Devil himself."_

 

He had told her. He had told her many times who he really was and she hadn‘t believed him. Overwhelmed, Chloe supported her weight with one hand on the tiles of the shower wall.

 

_She was in the hospital with Dan and Lucifer. Her partner had managed to get the files they needed for their murder case by stealing Dan‘s police equipment._

_"You stole my gun and my badge? What the hell‘s the matter with you?" Dan snapped angrily._

_"Hey guys!" Chloe intervened immediately, trying to defuse the conversation, but Dan turned to her sourly. "Are you gonna take his side in this right now, is this what you‘re doing?"_

_Chloe shook her head, annoyed._

_"I got the files, didn‘t I?“ Lucifer said simply . "I did what I had to do."_

_"Oh, please, don‘t give me that crap! You never do what you have to do, Lucifer! You only ever do what you want to." Dan glared at him._

_Lucifer's facial expression darkened, and he stared down at her ex-husband. "That is not true! There‘s a lot of things that I didn‘t want to do."_

_"Oh, really?"_

_"Yes, because if I only ever did what I wanted to do, then right now I‘d do this." Lucifer lunged with his fist, hitting Dan on the nose._

_Chloe was startled for a second, before she rushed to help Dan. He had turned away, groaning._

_"What the hell is wrong with you?" she yelled at Lucifer._

_"Why are you so surprised, Detective? I‘m the Devil, remember, I‘m evil!"_

 

Chloe bit her lower lip. She already tasted blood, but she didn‘t really care at the moment. How could she have missed all the signs? All the time she‘d thought it was a metaphor - a metaphor for an evil side inside him that he wasn‘t able to escape from and which was a part of him. Of course, she‘d often wondered why he identified so closely with the Devil, but she‘d never come up with the idea that it could have been true. It was absurd, surreal and way too scary! And yet it was the truth.

 

Chloe spotted Lucifer on the balcony. She took her fingers off the piano keys, walking towards him. It was dark and the city of Los Angeles was sparkling in a colorful sea of lights.

"And point taken," he told her.

Chloe frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You‘ve put away not one, but two bad guys today, all without my help. So it’s become very clear that… well, you don‘t need me."

She shook her head. A soft smile settled on her mouth as she listened to Lucifer's story.

"And that's okay, Detective, because with that realization came another." He paused, looking deeply into her eyes. "If you don‘t need me, then we’ve been working together all this time because you want to, because you choose to. You did choose me."

The gentle expression on his face forced her to shiver. She took a tiny step closer.

"You were right," Lucifer admitted. " I‘ve been trying to go back to the way things were, you know, playing our greatest hits, because I‘ve been avoiding dealing with things in the present like how I feel about you." He took a deep breath. "I was afraid. Afraid that you‘d want me because you‘ve only seen certain sides of me. That if you saw all of me…" He sighed. "Knew all of me, you would run away."

"Lucifer!" she breathed.

"Detective, it's true!"

"No!" she replied promptly and stepped closer, but he kept talking without paying any attention to her.

"The other side of me ... It’s bad, it’s monstrous even. You wanted the truth and you deserve the truth, but right now I can‘t show it to you, so I’m just gonna have to tell you... Detective..."

He paused, sighing from the bottom of his heart. "Chloe ... I am the Devil." 

 

A desperate sound escaped her throat as the emotional pain and confusion washed over her. Lucifer had tried to make her understand before he‘d kissed her. He desperately wanted her to understand what he was, and yet she hadn‘t believed him.

Her own body weight suddenly seemed too much for her legs to hold. Helplessly she slumped down the shower wall, clutching her knees. The water was still pouring over her body, but she wasn‘t capable of noticing the surroundings anymore. Tears were searching for a new way out, mingling with the water of the shower jet. Trembling and sobbing, she put her head on her knees, letting the overwhelming swirl of emotions draw her to despair.

 

*******

 

Contrary to his otherwise graceful manners, Lucifer Morningstar crashed onto the hard floor of the penthouse's rooftop terrace. The pain exploded in his body as he hit the surface face down. Lucifer was breathing heavily and irregularly as he felt his wounded wings stretching painfully to his sides. It had taken a lot of strength to use them a second time after Cain and his men had perforated them. That must also be the reason for his crash landing.

Moaning, Lucifer raised his head, carefully straightening from the floor. A look at his otherwise snow-white wings made him inhale the air sharply into his lungs. His feathers were bloodstained. Several metallic balls were gleaming between his plumage, partly caught in between the feathers or flown straight through, but he sensed that some were stuck in his flesh and bones, being responsible for most of his pain. It would certainly take weeks for his wings to heal completely for it was the part of his body that was the most sensitive and needed the longest for healing.

With a light shoulder roll, Lucifer tried to move the left wing. Instantly he hissed in pain. Maybe he would just have to leave the wings out of his body for a while. He even considered cutting them off, but for some inexplicable reason he feared that this might be his last pair and that they wouldn‘t regrow.

Well, to be honest, the reason wasn‘t completely inexplicable. Most likely, it had something to do with the fact that his Devil face had returned.

The thought caused a deep depression to spread inside his body. She‘d seen it! Chloe had seen his true face even before he‘d noticed it had returned.

The detective knew the truth! Now she knew who he really was and her reaction to that knowledge forced his heart to cramp. Completely scared and intimidated, she‘d stood before him, showing him exactly the same reaction all other people had shown in the past. They had all panicked in fear, backing away. Chloe Decker, the one woman whose opinions and feelings were important to him, had condemned him just as much as humanity or his family had done for eons.

The thought forced him to moan in agony. Why the hell had he thought for one single second that she would have judged him differently? Why had he thought she might understand? The bitter aftertaste of her behavior made him feel sick in his stomach.

Weary and tired, Lucifer dragged himself inside his penthouse. He’d managed to angle his wings to slide sideways through the door. Deep in despair, he went to his bathroom, getting rid of his clothes and squeezing himself into the otherwise big shower. It provided enough space for several people, but with his wings, several feet in span, he was just glad not to break the glass front of the shower.

Half-heartedly Lucifer glanced at his clothes, which he could throw into the nearest garbage bin. Cain had torn his shirt and the suit had been scratched on his sleeve when his opponent had injured him with Maze's dagger on his upper arm.

Lucifer turned on the tap, positioning himself under the lukewarm stream that rained down on top of him. The heat felt comforting – almost like he could wash away some of his emotions along with the water.

His mind wandered back to the fight with Cain. The Devil had promised he would find a way to kill him, and he had succeeded. He had gotten rid of the lieutenant once and for all and it gave him great satisfaction to know that the murderer of Charlotte Richards was now stuck in his own personal hell loop. Far, far away from the Detective.

_Chloe!_

Her fearful look chased him. Desperately, he closed his eyes, but he couldn‘t suppress her horrified expression.

What should he do now? In a panic reaction, Lucifer had fled earlier. He‘d sensed that there was no point talking to her about what she‘d seen. And there had been the devastating realization that she’d also turned away from him in fear. He had no longer been able to bear the terrified look in her eyes, so he‘d simply fled form her - he had fled from her reaction, her rejection, and most of all, his own feelings.

Lucifer put his head under the stream of water, running his hands through his raven-black hair. He‘d hidden his Devil face in the meantime. The sudden appearance had taken him by surprise in the museum and he hadn‘t been able to hide it from Chloe for a while. It didn‘t matter now. She‘d seen it and she’d condemned him afterwards.

She had condemned him just as much as he‘d judged himself. The fact that his Devil face had returned had a profound reason, and that reason pierced his chest like a knife cut.

He gasped, resting one hand on the tile wall of the shower cubicle. The flood of emotions rushed through his body like a raging river, leaving him trembling. His body gave way, and he sunk powerlessly to the floor.

His Devil face had returned because he _deserved_ it.

He deserved it because he was exactly what the whole world thought he was.

What Chloe thought he was.

_A monster._


	2. A new day full of agony

With trembling hands, Chloe Decker stood in the elevator of the police department, waiting for the cabin to take her out of the parking garage to the ground floor.

Two weeks had passed since Marcus had set them a trap and since Lucifer had turned her worldview upside down. Fourteen torturously endless days in which Chloe had been suspended from duty to recover and to give the police an opportunity to work up the case of Lieutenant Marcus Pierce. Of course, without her intervention. It had been the purest form of torture. For days, she‘d racked her head about it, desperately trying to cope with the new insights and the new knowledge. The whole time she‘d come up with new abysses that had been constantly driving her to the edge of sanity; insights about God - Lucifer's _father_ \- angels like Amenadiel, or demonic ex-roommates. Just _everything_ was real. The whole concept of Heaven and Hell actually existed, and Lucifer was an essential part of it.

Annoyed by the direction of thoughts that once more had come to her mind on their own, Chloe clasped her hands together, forcing her fingers to stop trembling.

It was important to concentrate today. There were far more important things that demanded her attention, such as her upcoming questioning regarding Pierce's death. Depending on the outcome of the conversation, the supervisors would decide whether to end her suspension or not. And an end of suspension was something Chloe needed urgently. To work again would do her good, distract her, and help her to find a way back to normality - if that was even possible with the newfound knowledge.

With a gentle jerk, the elevator came to a halt, and the doors opened. Chloe inhaled the stifling air deep into her lungs and forced herself to calm down before straightening her shoulders and leaving the elevator. Determined, she passed the first colleagues, who immediately stopped their talking and instead stared at her bluntly.

Chloe tried her best to ignore the penitential glances as she moved to her desk. The situation seemed way too familiar to her. It just felt exactly the same with the old _Palmetto_ case. Once again, she‘d been responsible for the death of a colleague, or at least she‘d been involved in it. According to the condemning looks of her colleagues, it didn‘t seem to matter at all that both Malcom and Pierce had turned out to be the bad guys.

Chloe reached her desk. Slowly she pulled her chair back when she saw Ella storming out of the lab. Her tied-up ponytail bobbed slightly, and the rhinestone-studded ring of Saturn glittered on her black T-shirt as the forensic, with a reassuring smile, passed the few yards, pulling Chloe into a tight hug. "Welcome back! It‘s been really boring without you here, you know."

Chloe freed herself from Ella's embrace. "I'm not back yet," she clarified, but her friend shook her head enthusiastically. "Nonsense, Chloe! You'll easily master the interrogation and then Lucifer and you will be released from suspension immediately."

At the mention of his name, the detective winced. She hadn‘t had the courage to tell Ella the full truth. No one but Lucifer and herself knew what had really happened that day. Chloe had been racking her head for nights wondering how she could explain _certain_ events. Something that would make sense and would be authentic. She wasn‘t sure if she would succeed, or if she would be taken for crazy afterward and transferred straight to an asylum, but she had to try. As frightening as Lucifer's true appearance was, he didn‘t deserve to be arrested for Pierce's death. He‘d only tried to protect her from the _Sinnerman_.

"Is..." – _Lucifer_. She didn‘t manage to pronounce his name aloud. "Has he already made his statement?"

Ella shook her head. "Not to my knowledge. A few days ago Dan told me that Lucifer had phoned the station to explain that he would be out of business for a couple of days and that he would get in touch as soon as he gets back to LA."

Chloe frowned. "And they let him leave just like that?"

"It looks like it. Apparently none of the supervisors seems to believe that Lucifer is indeed a cold-blooded killer after finding various incriminating documents at Pierce's home." 

That was good news! Finally the investigation was developing in a positive direction. Charlotte Richards had already done some initial research, but she hadn‘t found enough evidence to prove that Pierce was actually the Sinnerman. But after the events in the old art museum and the new documents a clear connection should easily be drawn.

Thinking of Charlotte made Chloe feel sad. The gloomy feeling spread inside her body. They hadn‘t been really good friends, but the detective had noticed how much Charlotte had tried to make up for her questionable behavior in the past. But most of all, Chloe felt guilty because of Dan, who had been in a romantic relationship with Charlotte when she died. Her ex-husband had been devastated after her death - he probably still was - and Chloe felt miserable because she hadn‘t been there for him when he’d needed her most.

But what else should she have done? How could she have been dealing differently with Lucifer's revelation? It wasn‘t as if she could talk to anyone about it...

"Detective Decker?" It was an unknown male voice that tore Chloe out of her circling thoughts.

While raising her gaze from the floor, she made acquaintance with a new face.

"I‘m Lieutenant Beckett, and currently in charge of the department." With a friendly smile the man held out his hand. Chloe took it, studying the new lieutenant. He seemed to be in his late forties. His short, dark hair was streaked with white, and his green eyes told her that he was a man who had already seen much of the world. He was taller than she was, wearing black trousers and a plain white shirt. His attitude was friendly, but decisive.

"If you don‘t mind, I'd like to start with the questioning." He pointed towards the interrogation room, releasing her hand. Chloe nodded in agreement. The sooner this talk was over, the sooner she could be done with things.

She gave Ella an apologetic look.

"Good luck, Chloe," she replied with a reassuring all-will-be-fine-smile, holding up both thumbs. Her optimism was truly unbeatable.

The detective sighed before she allowed herself to be led to the interrogation room by Lieutenant Beckett and took a seat at the black metal table. Normally she sat on the other side, the front door at her back.

Nervously Chloe's eyes flickered to the mirrored wall. Was it possible that some of her colleagues were hiding behind it to pursue their investigation? A dull feeling spread inside her stomach.

She focused on Beckett again, who just took a seat across from her. He placed a file on the table, opening it in the process. 

"How are you, Detective Decker?" he asked politely, looking up. "The incident must have been quite onerous for you. After all you and Marcus Pierce were also privately involved."

 _Onerous_ was the understatement of the century considering that she‘d learned some pretty world-shaking things. "Considering the circumstances," she answered hesitantly, "I'm okay."

Lieutenant Beckett nodded, leaning back in his chair. "Then would you please describe what happened in the art museum from your point of view."

Chloe folded her hands in her lap, kneading her fingers uneasily. She took a deep breath before recalling what had happened to her and the lieutenant. She started at the point when Dan had found the investigation file about Pierce in Charlotte's apartment; she reported on how Dan had been able to convince both Lucifer and her that Pierce was the Sinnerman; how she realized that Marcus was a miserable liar who had killed Charlotte, and how they had set a trap for Pierce and then had stumbled right into one of their own.

The new lieutenant listened without interrupting her once, until she got to the point where one of Pierce‘s accomplice had fired a gun at her.

"Wait." His brow furrowed. "Are you trying to explain here that you briefly lost consciousness when you were hit by a bullet, and when you came back, Mr. Morningstar had already saved you and had gone off to fight alone?"

Chloe nodded stiffly.

“The forensics report refers to four men who were found dead in the main room. Various bullet holes in the floor and in the walls indicate the use of machine guns and other handguns. That means your partner dealt with all of those armed men alone?"

"We wore bulletproof vests, and the main room offered plenty of opportunities to seek behind columns and boxes. So it pretty much looks like it, Lieutenant." Chloe confirmed his question in a calm voice. There was no need to tell him that she had been the _only_ one with a bulletproof vest. "I..." She swallowed the rising lump in her throat as the overwhelming images flowed her head.

That was idiotic! Why was she unable to say his name? She couldn‘t be afraid of a simple name! Annoyed, Chloe bit her tongue, facing her fear. "When I came to help _Lucifer_ , the men were already down and Pierce dead."

"So Mr. Morningstar killed Pierce?"

"It was self-defense!" she snapped at him immediately. Chloe's fingernails dug into her palms. "Marcus Pierce tried to kill us. He and his men shot at us. Lucifer had no other choice."

The lieutenant leaned across the table, an eyebrow raised. "Did you see that with your own eyes? Did you see how Mr. Morningstar acted in self-defense or how Pierce died?"

Chloe's uneasy feeling grew. That was exactly the one point of her story that she couldn‘t explain. She hadn‘t seen Lucifer killing Pierce and she didn‘t know one hundred percent what had happened...

Chloe lowered her gaze. "No, I did not. But it all points to it."

"Huh," Beckett just said, pausing for a moment. Then he took a picture and slid it across the table. It showed Pierce's corpse on the white marble floor. His lifeless gaze went nowhere. The puncture site in his chest was stained dark red from all the blood. Chloe swallowed heavily. The thought of her ex-fiancé was hard to bear. The past few weeks with Marcus had left deep marks in her heart even though he had tried to kill them.

Or was it because he had tried to kill her? After all, she‘d got in a romantic relationship with him, and had even got engaged, and that bastard just turned out to be the _Sinnerman_ – a lousy traitor - who had wanted to shoot and kill Lucifer.

_Lucifer! The Devil…_

"Detective Decker?" Beckett tore her from her thoughts.

Frowning, she bowed her head.

"What do you know about the missing murder weapon? The forensics department found out that it must have been a dagger or a sharp knife with a diameter of perhaps two to three inches. Do you know if your partner normally carried such a weapon with him?"

A lost murder weapon?!

Why the hell... Why, by all means, was the weapon lost?

"I have no idea," the detective admitted truthfully. "I tried to rush to my partner's aid, running down the big stairs when I saw Pierce dead on the floor. Lucifer stood in front of him and..." The memory of a pair of red eyes flashed up in her head, making her flinch. "... he blocked my view first," she kind of choked. Lucifer's fearsome look pierced her mind, letting her imagination gone wild.

"How could you not have seen the murder weapon?" Beckett's cool and reserved voice dripped with skepticism.

_Because my partner had revealed himself as the Devil at that very moment!_

"I was ... completely confused. Pierce betrayed us, but his death has shocked me a lot. I had a panic attack. I..." She faltered. "At that moment, I just didn‘t think about my police duty and collapsed on the steps. Ella and Dan found me completely hysterical a few minutes later."

"And Mr. Morningstar?"

"We... _fought_. He left the scene because of his habit of evading disputes." That was a blatant lie, but the lieutenant considered it plausible, for he nodded. "Is it possible that your partner would have taken the murder weapon with him?"

Chloe's eyes widened. "Why would he do such a thing?"

Beckett shrugged. "Ms. Lopez and Detective Espinoza both reported that they hadn‘t been able to spot a murder weapon when they arrived. So somebody must have stolen the knife in your presence, and it appears Mr. Morningstar was the only person who, according to the report, was still alive in that building."

Chloe's gaze fell on the photos of Marcus' corpse. "Maybe there was another one of Pierce‘s men who took the opportunity to steal the weapon," she speculated.

"That's absurd!"

"As absurd as implying that my partner is stealing a murder weapon from a crime scene. Every one of us is well aware that he was the one fighting with Pierce. So, what should have been his motive to steal the weapon? We already knew that he was involved." It was a really good question actually, and Chloe wasn‘t able to figure it out.

"Very well, Detective Decker. From your testimony I gather that you can‘t provide any useful clues about the murder weapon, and until we have a more reasonable theory, Mr. Morningstar will remain a prime suspect."

Chloe tensed. This conversation didn‘t go as she‘d imagined it in her head. Why had the murder weapon just disappeared from the crime scene? During her presence! She could very well understand why Beckett suspected Lucifer. Obviously he was the only one who had opportunity. But why? Why should he try to let the murder weapon disappear? This action would only make him even more suspect.

Waiting, Beckett's gaze met hers. He watched her critically before reaching for another picture in the file to show it to her. Chloe just had to take a quick glance to know what his next question would be.

"Could you instead tell me why the entire crime scene was littered with bloody feathers?"

They were _his_ blood-soaked feathers - the battered feathers of a _fallen angel_. The thought made Chloe's heart skip a beat. Of course, she‘d spent the last fortnight searching through the Internet for information about the Devil. Unfortunately the new information had just helped her to get even more confused and to end up in another panic attack.

"All those feathers hadn‘t been there at the beginning," Chloe explained, pointing to the photo." During the fight some boxes must have been destroyed. The feathers probably came out of these boxes."

The lieutenant eyed her suspiciously. "There is dried blood on those feathers. Blood that our forensics department hasn‘t been able to analyze properly yet. All tests led to ambiguous results."

Chloe's eyes widened slightly as she processed the new information. She urgently needed to talk to Ella about it. If her friend identified the blood and attributed it to Lucifer, the whole world would face a fateful revelation.

"Listen, Lieutenant. I..." 

Chloe was interrupted as the door to the interrogation room swung open and Daniel Espinoza appeared in the doorframe with a worried expression on his face and a tablet in his hand. "Lieutenant, I‘m sorry to interrupt, but there‘s a new murder reported to us."

Beckett turned to her ex-husband. "And why is that a reason to disturb us?" he asked.

Dan rubbed through his hair while his worried gaze rested on her. "The body was found in a side street next to LUX, Lucifer Morningstar‘s nightclub."

Chloe's world began to spin from one second to the next. She could feel how the new events tore away the hard-won ground beneath her feet. Her hands began to shake uncontrollably.

 _Please don‘t say it_ , she pleaded in thought, but the lieutenant took the connection to her into consideration.

"Detective Decker," he declared almost solemnly. "Your suspension is over. Take care of the new murder. I think Mr. Morningstar will have an interest in solving this case with you."

Chloe felt herself lose control of her body. Images of Lucifer's devilish face shot into her head, stealing her breath away. She was not ready yet. She was not ready to meet with Lucifer again. She just wasn‘t!

"I can‘t..." The words were stuck in her throat. Seeking help, her gaze went to Dan. He‘d noticed her sudden uncertainty and stepped closer. "Lieutenant, the investigation against Lucifer is still ongoing. Is it wise to let him work for the LAPD again?"

Beckett grabbed the file on the table before getting up from his chair. "That's just formality. The evidence proves Pierce's betrayal. Mr. Morningstar will be questioned again about the missing murder weapon, but it all does point to self-defense." He turned to Chloe. "Detective Decker, welcome back. It‘s your case now."

 

********

 

The alley, which led to the back exit of LUX, wasn‘t looking very inviting at all. Green and brown dumpsters _decorated_ the side walls along with rusty fire-ladders that were part of the outbuildings. A homeless cat crept around the containers, scouring the area for food waste.

Chloe had chosen this way only a few times to get inside the nightclub. Each time it had been dark outside, so she‘d only been able to guess about the shabby character of the alley. By day now, she discovered various used condoms and torn up packaging on the floor, as well as some empty bottles of alcohol that pointed to homeless or party-mad people. Every other day, her neck hairs would probably have stood on end in disgust, but today they were already standing, and a cold shudder was running down her spine. Her mind was only focused on Lucifer, who was staring at her in her thoughts with those fiery red eyes. It was the devil‘s eyes which had haunted her for the last fourteen nights and which had brought her to the edge of madness.

Chloe tried to concentrate on Ella, who was now wearing her dark blue forensic jacket and purple rubber gloves. She‘d arrived some minutes ago and was examining the body at her feet. It was a young man, lying lifelessly in front of the back exit’s steps. His temple was damaged, showing a visible bullet hole on the left side with dried blood on it. Much more surprising, however, was the fact that there was a gun in the victim's outstretched hand – probably the potential murder weapon.

"Hm," Ella said, gently touching the dead man's head with her fingers to examine the bullet hole. "Someone definitely turned his brain to mush. This man died from the shot to the head. At first glance, I would guess it was a nine millimeter, which coincides with the weapon in his hand. The accuracy with which his temple was hit at exactly the right angle indicates that he was shot at close range."

Chloe listened halfheartedly. In her body a tornado raged with fear and nervous tension. They had been here for half an hour and the crime scene had been blocked with yellow police tape. Some of her colleagues guarded the alley entrance, shielding the area from curious looks. Lucifer must have been informed about the incident at his door by now. So he would probably show up here any minute. Any minute now she would look into the face of the incarnate ruler of Hell again.

Or was it possible that he wasn’t home at all? Dan had told Ella that he was traveling for work. There was a small chance that Chloe wouldn‘t have to meet him today. She clung to that thin strand of hope. She wasn‘t ready to meet him yet. She didn‘t know how she would react and what she should say or feel. The fact that she was about to be consumed by her fear showed that she was definitely not ready to face Lucifer.

Chloe straightened her shoulders and turned her attention to Ella and the corpse. There was no point in drowning in her fear and being paralyzed by it.

"Could it have been a suicide?" she asked, pointing to the gun in the dead man's hand.

Ella looked up from her crouch. "There's a lot of evidence pointing to that, isn‘t it?" She reached for her camera and began to shoot various photos of the weapon hand and the head injury.

"To me, it looks very much like suicide," Chloe confirmed her statement. "No killer would be that silly as to shoot a human and leave without taking the murder weapon with him."

Ella nodded affirmatively; her forehead wrinkled. "Unless the killer wants us to believe it's suicide. Look at the ground around the bullet hole next to his temple."

Chloe's gaze searched the ground. "I don‘t see anything out of the ordinary," she told the forensic scientist, looking perplexed.  
"Exactly!" Ella got up, gesticulating wildly over the corpse. "Such a shot would have caused a lot of blood around the head."

"So he didn‘t die here after all," Chloe concluded.

Ella nodded in agreement. "Someone moved the body after the man was shot. Or after he shot himself. I can‘t really say that precisely at the moment."

That definitely didn‘t sound like a simple suicide. Lost in thought, Chloe stared at the victim. He was young, maybe even a teenager. Who could have done that to him?

Ella began to move away from the corpse, searching the surrounding area for footprints. Chloe turned to her. How gladly would she welcome her partner back to discuss the murder case with him and to set up the first suspects and motives, as they used to. At some point she even wished she‘d never known who Lucifer really was. Then they would have been able to stand together now, investigating the murder.

Sighing, Chloe pulled out a pair of rubber gloves from her jacket pocket, slipped them over her hands, and turned to the corpse. She crouched down, LUX's door at her back, searching the dead man's pockets for personal valuables. However, apart from a few dollar bills, she found nothing useful. No identity card or wallet that would have given a clue to the man’s identity.

"It doesn‘t look like a robbery," Chloe remarked. "His money is still there."

She expected a woman's voice to answer her - in fact, she expected Ella to answer, but the single word she heard behind her back made her blood run cold.

“Detective!“

 _Please don‘t_! Chloe's heart stopped, only to continue beating at double speed. She froze. The spicy masculine scent of his expensive aftershave blew over, confirming that it wasn‘t a hallucination.

"A murder on my doorstep and you don‘t call?" Lucifer mocked. His tone was cheerful, carefree. As if nothing dramatic had happened between them recently; as if Pierce's death and his Devil revelation had never happened.

With infinite slowness and a tremor in her hands that Chloe could barely suppress, she got to her feet, turning to the Devil.

There he stood, in an immaculate dark blue designer suit, anthracite-colored shirt and matching vest - without his devilish face. Dark brown eyes were looking at her face curiously and a charming smile played on his lips.

His look was too much for her to handle. Like a heavy burden it was pressing down on her body, threatening to crush her.

"What ..." The words were stuck in her throat. She didn‘t even know what to say.

Lucifer's smile faded as he noticed her inner tension. "The LAPD called me to let me know that there's a dead body in front of my club and that we're both supposed to take care of the case."

Chloe's hands clenched into fists. "I thought you... were traveling..." she stuttered, struggling for control.

The Devil in front of her tilted his head. Chloe felt his eye contact on her, but she was unable to return it at the moment. Instead she stared at his polished Louis Vuitton leather shoes.

"I thought you‘d need some distance from me. So I stayed away from the department, giving Daniel that excuse."

She still needed distance! A lot of distance! Swallowing, she closed her eyes, but it was a fatal mistake. Immediately, Lucifer's devil eyes pierced her mind, burning her from the inside. Panting, she backed away a step.

"Let me explain things to you, Detective," he suggested. His voice sounded far from confident, unlike his appearance would want her to believe.

Chloe didn‘t get the chance to answer him.

"Man, Lucifer!" Ella screamed from the end of the alley, striding towards him. "Nice to see you!" The next moment, she put the camera away to pull the Devil in a tight hug.

Ella was actually hugging the Devil!

In Chloe's stomach, her not yet fully digested breakfast rebelled. Her body quivered with tension. The forensic scientist was completely unaware!

Chloe's gaze brushed Lucifer’s. He seemed to understand what was going on in her head, for he pushed Ella firmly away. "Ah, Ms. Lopez. It's always a pleasure to see you brighten the mood." Playfully Ella punched him on the upper arm, beaming all over her face. She hadn‘t noticed the tense atmosphere between Lucifer and her.

"I already told Chloe that this case looks like suicide at first glance, but on closer inspection you can see that the man didn‘t die here in front of your club. He was killed elsewhere and subsequently moved. I found traces of blood along the alley. The lack of a large amount of blood around the victim's head also shows that someone dumped him here after his death."

Lucifer's eyes darted between the dead body and Chloe. She‘d backed away further, unnoticed.

"Why would anyone want to dump a body in front of my club?" he asked, moving closer to the dead man. His hands disappeared into the pockets of his suit pants.

"I‘m not sure yet," Chloe muttered in a husky voice. "Do you know... the victim?"

Lucifer squatted in front of the corpse and leaned over the man's face. "I‘m afraid not, Detective. He's too young to be one of my lovers and he doesn‘t owe me a favor either."

 _Owning him a favor_? Like doing a pact with the Devil and selling one‘s soul? Chloe's eyes widened in shock. This trivial statement suddenly got a very different meaning. And _lover_? Had half of LA slept with the actual Devil without knowing it? That thought was terrifying.

Fortunately, Chloe was spared an answer because Ella squatted next to Lucifer. "I can examine his fingerprints in the lab. Then we’ll have an identity that you might be able to relate to. The killer must definitely be following a plan if he put the body right outside your back door."

"Maybe it's coincidence?" Chloe speculated.

Ella gave her a skeptical look. "If someone just wanted to get rid of the body, he'd have thrown it somewhere like trash. This man was positioned right in front of the door with a weapon in his hand. It‘s definitely staged. I think the killer wanted to send a message."

Lucifer's body tightened visibly. "Or a warning," he muttered more to himself, but Chloe understood him anyway. The thought had already come to her mind too.

"Or a warning." Ella jumped to her feet again. "I'll grab a camera attachment from the car for a few last photos. Then I should be done." Smiling, she turned away from both, walking towards the exit of the alley.

Chloe became all too aware that she was left alone with the Devil. Another wave of panic threatened to crush her.

"Detective," Lucifer started. "We should talk. Let me explain a few things. Maybe it will be easier for you to understand then."

Chloe bit her lower lip, hard. "That won‘t change anything," she breathed. "Because _knowing_ is the problem. You are the..." - _Devil_. She didn‘t manage to call him by name. "And I can..." - _not_. "I need time. We can‘t..." - _work together_. Chloe was unable to finish her sentences. Her emotions were boiling over and she felt her eyes becoming watery. She had to go. She just wasn‘t ready for this.

"What can I do?" Lucifer asked uncertainly. "Should I… leave?"

Chloe‘s heart was bleeding. She knew it was unspeakably brutal of her to demand what Lucifer offered her, but she couldn‘t help herself. She could not... She couldn‘t pretend that everything was normal, that Lucifer was still her partner. Not with all the things she knew now.

So she nodded, and he understood.

"As you wish. Forgive me the interruption, Detective." His voice sounded hurt. She knew that she‘d offended him and she knew that she didn‘t want to offend _him_ , but currently she saw no other way.

Lucifer turned away from her, heading to the back door of LUX. Chloe didn‘t stop him when he disappeared inside. Even though her entire body screamed not to let him go like this.

Completely overwhelmed, she slid to the ground near a fire escape. Her whole body was cramping. What had she done? She wanted her partner back, but this was no longer her partner. The relationship between them had changed tremendously and yet she felt a spark of that old bond between them. What should she do? How could she get over this to behave normal again? A _normal_ behavior in a world that was anything but normal. A world where angels and demons existed... and the Devil himself.


	3. With a new day comes a new chance

"Mommy?"

Her daughter's questioning voice ripped Chloe from her train of thought. Irritated, she looked up from the book on her lap. Her gaze moved over to Trixie. They were both lying in the small children’s bed, Trixie snuggled up tight while the blanket was pulled up to her neck. Chloe herself was half leaning against the headboard.

"Why did you stop reading?" her child asked, raising her head curiously.

"I'm sorry, monkey. I must have been a bit distracted.” Hurriedly Chloe looked back down at the Harry Potter book, searching for the line where she‘d last stopped.

It was story time - a ritual Chloe and her daughter had been carrying out for many years now. Because of her fulltime job Chloe often felt like she was neglecting Trixie, and that was only one of the reasons why she‘d made it her task to take half an hour every evening, in which she paid full attention to her daughter.

Unfortunately, it was hard to keep an eye on anything these days. So her thoughts drifted back to what had happened today as she continued reading aloud - something about dragons and a Triwizard Tournament.

The day had been salvation and torture at the same time. On the one hand, Chloe was relieved that the new lieutenant had ended her suspension, but this fact had also turned out to be a gigantic problem, because she‘d stumbled straight into the next catastrophe. A disaster that forced her to work with the actual Devil... Again!

How could that have happened? One moment she‘d still been justifying Lucifer's actions on that fateful day, and the next she‘d already gotten another murder case with him to solve.

And as expected, Chloe had failed right down the line. Like an anxious picture of misery, she‘d stood there, incapable of thinking straight and pronouncing some sentences in his presence. It had been awful! How in the world were they supposed to solve this damn murder together, if she continued to act like that?

"Mommy!" Trixie nagged in a penetrating voice.

Chloe winced as she came to realize that she‘d once more forgotten about her daughter. "I’m so sorry, babe. It‘s really not my day.” Resigned, she lowered the book.

Trixie grimaced, but when she looked at Chloe, her expression softened instantly. "Is it because you and Lucifer are still fighting?"

Chloe sighed. Of course, Trixie hadn't missed that her mother had mutated into a nervous wreck over the past two weeks. 

"It definitely has something to do with it," she carefully skirted the truth.

"Have you talked to Lucifer yet? Mrs. Jenkins at school always says if you argue, you have to talk about it and search for a solution together,” Trixie said, proud to come up with such a fabulous idea.

Chloe pressed her lips together. Of course she hadn't talked to Lucifer about it. She wasn‘t even able to say a reasonable sentence in his presence.

"No, I didn't," she confessed to her daughter, shaking her head.

Trixie eyed her suspiciously. "Why not?"

_Because he's the Devil!_

"It's complicated, Trix," she mumbled. "Lucifer showed me," she paused briefly. “He showed me a side about himself that scares me."

Her daughter moved in bed, throwing the blanket back. "That makes no sense," she protested. "Lucifer isn‘t evil. He saved you so many times at work. You can’t really be afraid of him."

Chloe swallowed when she looked into her daughter's face. For inexplicable reasons, Trixie idolized Lucifer and would always take sides with him no matter what happened. However, there was a truth in her naive, childish statement that Chloe found hard to miss.

"I like Lucifer," Trixie said. "It‘d be so nice if you two could get along again, mommy. He hasn't been with us for a long while.”

Uncomfortably Chloe bit her lower lip as Trixie's words haunted her. She also wanted to end her time out with Lucifer. She really wanted them both to get back to their old, light-hearted way, but Chloe had absolutely no idea how she should bring herself to do so. It felt like there was a huge gap between them that she just couldn't jump over.

The mere thought of her partner with his sunken skin and those glowing red eyes drove her into an overwhelming fear. How could she ever forget about this detail?

Just then she realized that she wasn't even trying. She hadn't given Lucifer a real chance. He‘d tried to behave normally and he‘d tried to talk to her this afternoon. But instead of accepting his offer, she‘d surrendered to her fear, rejecting him in the process.

Her almost schizophrenic behavior caused her a whiplash. Moaning, Chloe rubbed a hand over her eyes and massaged her temple. "I think you're right, monkey," she finally admitted to her child. "Maybe I should really talk to... _Lucifer_."

Trixie started to beam all over her face. Nodding eagerly, she wrapped her arms around Chloe's torso. "Can he come over for dinner soon?"

The Detective returned Trixie's embrace, hugging her back. "Give us some time. I think it's a little too early for that." 

With a slight panic in her chest and a disturbing picture in her head - about the Devil with his red skin and glowing eyes at her dining table - she kissed Trixie‘s thatch. 

"Now, we’d better concentrate on ending this Harry Potter chapter first. It's late and already time to sleep.”

Trixie grinned, snuggling back into the mattress.

Chloe had nine more pages to read before the chapter ended and Trixie fell asleep beside her. With a gentle smile on her lips, she freed herself from her daughter, gave her a short kiss on the forehead and left the room, tiptoeing.

For a long moment she just stood in the living room, unsure of what to do. Her thoughts were still shaken up by the day and she felt exceedingly exhausted. It had been one of those days where Chloe just wanted to crawl in bed, put a blanket over her head and never stand up again.

Unknowingly her feet and agitated thoughts carried her to the kitchen. She poured herself a big glass of red wine and walked to her couch to sit down.

It took her a moment to spot the cell phone on the coffee table. Maybe she should text him? Writing would be a lot easier than calling him and running the risk of not being able to complete a sentence again. And it was important to finally get in touch with him.

Unfortunately her subliminal fear decided against it. Paralyzed by her doubts, she froze, her hand outstretched over the phone. 

Was she really ready for this? The answer was a clear no! However, she barely had a choice. One way or another she was forced to solve this murder with him, not least because the killer had put the body right in front of Lucifer's club.

And Ella's statement sounded very plausible and at the same time unsettling. The killer had wanted to send Lucifer a message - or maybe even a warning. But who would have the guts to personally threaten the Devil?

Chloe groaned, putting the red wine glass to her lips to take a long sip. Nobody knew he was the Devil, at least no human. So the killer probably didn't know what he was getting himself into when he’d placed the body in front of Lucifer's club. By all means, one thing was pretty obvious. An argument with the Devil would certainly not work in the killer‘s favor.

On the other hand...

Chloe frowned. Lucifer was vulnerable. She‘d seen him getting shot and she‘d also been the one firing at him once. In fact he’d almost died. As terrifying as all the Devil tales were, Lucifer seemed to have a vulnerable side. Maybe it was even a human side.

How the hell was that possible?

Her mind spun at a rapid pace. Trixie was right. She would only get her problems solved if she started dealing with them. Running away and hiding in her apartment wasn‘t a permanent solution, especially since Chloe already felt like she would explode with tension every minute. 

She had to face her fear! And the first step would be to get in touch with Lucifer. Determined, she placed the wine glass back on the table to pick up the phone instead.

 

*********

 

With his forearm resting on the bar counter of LUX, Lucifer Morningstar glanced over the dance floor. Various women dressed in sexy outfits moved their sensual bodies to the beats of loud music, looking almost desperately for an unforgettable night in his club. It didn't matter that it was the middle of the week. The reputation of LUX and its owner rushed ahead, making sure a huge amount of people stood in line to enjoy his presence every day.

The Devil reached for the whiskey behind the counter and refilled his glass. The bartender had left the bottle right at his fingertips when he’d noticed the club owner’s tensed constitution. It wasn‘t very surprising that Lucifer didn‘t manage to suppress all of his inner turmoil after today‘s events.

He‘d seen her! He‘d seen Chloe again, and the frightened behavior she was still showing hurt him worse than he‘d like to admit. In their last session Dr. Linda had advised him to give the Detective some time to work things through. Linda herself had shared the same experiences, and Lucifer was well aware that she had had a lot of difficulties dealing with them. He remembered perfectly how he‘d feared he might have _broken_ his therapist. Linda was a human being - just like Chloe - and she’d simply need time to understand the full meaning of his revelation.

Unfortunately, two weeks had passed and the Detective's behavior at the crime scene had made it pretty clear that she was far away from acting normal again.

Annoyed by the whole situation he was currently stuck in, Lucifer downed the whiskey in his glass in a big gulp and refilled it straight away. The amber liquid had become a good friend over the last few days. In fact, it was the only friend who knew how to take care of him properly.

Maze hadn't said a word to him since her anger had broken out. As far as he knew, she currently lived with Dr. Linda. His brother had returned to the Silver City with Charlotte's soul, and Daniel - if Lucifer would consider him a friend - had turned away from him. He was still processing Charlotte Richard’s death and was blaming Lucifer for holding back valuable information - at least from Detective _Douche's_ point of view.

The only _friends_ left were Linda, who was currently having an enormous desire to analyze him after the events with Cain, and Ms. Lopez, with whom he‘d had little contact because of his and Chloe’s suspension.

At least until today.

The Devil had been surprised to receive a call from Daniel, who had informed him about the dead body in front of his back door and the new lieutenant’s request to investigate the murder with Chloe. Lucifer didn‘t know the dead man. He’d never seen him before, but he agreed with Ms. Lopez that the dead body might be a message for him. The Devil had been living too long to not interpret this warning appropriately.

The only question was: who wanted to send him this message and why?

Distracted, Lucifer rubbed his hair before pushing back his rolled-up shirt sleeves. He‘d put his dark blue jacket on the bar stool next to him and had opened the top buttons of his shirt.

Who the hell wanted to mess around with him? If he had a different relationship with his former bodyguard right now, he would ask her immediately to figure out who was trying to threaten the Devil.

A subtle rage bubbled to the surface. The whole universe seemed to have conspired against him. Lucifer was desperate to solve the murder as quickly as possible and find the killer so he could punish him for those ridiculous games, but Chloe still refused to work with him.

Then again, he could still work this case alone...

Deep in thoughts, Lucifer downed another whiskey when his mobile phone vibrated in his pocket. Disinterested, he pulled it out and was startled when he saw the sender of the message on his display.

_Detective Chloe Decker_ , it said.

His heartbeat accelerated. In a rush Lucifer opened the message. It was short and without any trace of emotion. 

_Tomorrow, 10 a.m., department. C_

Where did her sudden change of heart come from? Earlier at the crime scene, she‘d looked as if she wanted to flee in fear every second. She‘d welcomed his offer to leave without thinking twice. Why in Dad's name did she suddenly want to see him?

Lucifer frowned. She was a responsible woman who took her job very seriously. He doubted that she‘d texted him only because she wanted to see him. Of course not! Why would she want to meet a monster like him voluntarily!? No! Her job was just important to Chloe and now this case was _forcing_ her to work with him again.

Furious, Lucifer reached for the whiskey bottle, placing it directly to his lips. He was tired of enjoying himself in his club. The day had been a total disaster and it wouldn‘t get better anytime soon.

So he grabbed his jacket, threw it over his shoulder, and hurried to his private elevator, whiskey bottle still in his hand. He ignored the yearning looks of the men and women trying to devour him and took a deep breath when the elevator doors finally closed.

Chloe Decker had only texted him because she was forced to do it. The fact drove a surge of anger through his body. Lucifer felt a wave of heat rushing over him as his eyes changed color. He could see the red glow in the reflection of the smooth metal walls of the elevator.

Chloe Decker had turned away from him just as the rest of his family. Her rejection hurt. It was literally tearing him apart, dragging him to the bottom of his despair like a heavy burden. Dejected, Lucifer emptied the rest of the half-full bottle of whiskey before the elevator doors opened with a faint sound. Alcohol seemed to be the only kind of comfort he had left right now.

 

********

 

Nervously Chloe Decker tapped on a stack of paper with her pen. She didn't exactly know where the uncomfortable feeling came from. On the one hand, she wished nothing more than to avoid facing Lucifer, and on the other hand, she feared that he no longer had any desire to see her after their short encounter yesterday at LUX.

It was five minutes past ten and Lucifer should have been at the department by now. She‘d sent him a text message last night that he hadn't replied to. The fact unsettled Chloe. Usually he always texted her back and not infrequently he loved to put a suggestive comment into those messages. The fact that he didn't answer her at all only led to one conclusion. She‘d pissed him off - maybe she even offended him - and now Lucifer was tired of seeing her.

Was she happy about it? If he didn't show up, Chloe would be able to solve the murder on her own. It would guarantee her the much-needed distance to avoid things further...

Damn it!

Where had her willpower gone to face her problems? Chloe knew that from a rational point of view, it would only be helpful to process the recent events and that she had to face them head on. It was impossible to simply suppress all of her problems! Besides, she wouldn't be able to forget Lucifer's scarred face with those red eyes anyway.

Sighing heavily, Chloe brushed a thin strand of hair back behind her ear that had loosened from her braid. Her gaze slid to the clock on her computer monitor. 

Seven minutes past ten.

Her palms were sweaty, and the ballpoint pen almost slipped out of her fingers when she tapped it on the table with too much force. Annoyed, Chloe threw it away and rose from the chair. She would take a short walk to the toilet before going to see Ella with or without Lucifer. The forensic scientist mentioned earlier that she‘d found some interesting information about the body that she wanted to share with both of them.

Chloe ignored some derogatory glances from her colleagues who still couldn't seem to understand that Lieutenant Marcus Pierce was a lousy traitor who had killed Charlotte Richards, and walked past their desks. She‘d just passed the elevator when the doors opened with a low noise.

Chloe stopped as she turned around. She didn't quite understand how she knew it, but she felt his presence in the elevator before Lucifer was able to step out. Deep in her mind she hoped to be ready to face him this time, but seeing his appearance immediately sent a cold shiver up her spine.

It took Lucifer a blink of an eye to spot her. "Good morning, Detective. You wanted to see me?“ he greeted her with that same carefree voice as yesterday in the side street of LUX. Elegantly he straightened a cufflink on his burgundy shirt before shoving his hands into his black suit pockets. His eyes were watching her face, waiting.

It was so damn confusing. He was looking so normal in his classic three-piece suit and with his warm, dark brown eyes, and yet Chloe felt her heartbeat speed up in fear.

Unconsciously her hands gripped the sides of her ocher blazer. "Good morning," she pressed out, taking a deep breath. 

She could do this!

"Thanks for coming," Chloe finally managed to say while looking past his face at the distant wall. "You didn't answer me and I wasn‘t sure..." She hesitated. "Well. After yesterday I thought..." Damn it. She was acting like a huge idiot.

"It's okay, Detective," Lucifer helped her out.

"No, it's not," she said quickly, shaking her head. "My behavior yesterday... I'm sorry. It was unfair. I was…” Again she paused, but this time it wasn't because she was afraid to say things, but because she might offended him again.

Unfortunately, Lucifer understood her perfectly. "Afraid of me," he finished her sentence. His voice didn‘t reveal any feelings. But when Chloe glanced at him, she winced. She‘d hurt him again. That she could read in his eyes all too clear.

Tensed, she bit her lower lip, trying to control her troubled feelings. An uncomfortable silence spread between them, stretching out like a chewing gum. It felt like an eternity before Lucifer cleared his throat. "I assume you wanted to talk about the dead body in front of LUX."

He‘d hidden all forms of emotion behind a thick wall of indifference. Chloe nodded, thankful for the change of subject. After all, that was exactly the reason why she wanted to see him. 

“Ella has done some lab tests and would like to speak to us.”

“In that case, please lead the way, Detective.” With his hands he gestured towards the stairs.

Everything felt so familiar and yet so strange. He was behaving like her old partner - charming, accommodating and yet there was hidden so much more behind his facade.

Chloe was already feeling the first signs of a migraine attack taking over when she started to walk. Her body was under constant tension, she heard the pulse rushing in her ears loudly and her fingers had started to tremble again. All were clear signals of her anxiety, but she chose to ignore them.

Ella was already waiting when the Detective knocked on her door and entered a moment later. Lucifer followed her, pausing right in the doorway while she positioned herself as far away from him as possible at the opposite wall.

"There you are. I‘ve been waiting," the forensic scientist complained, looking from Chloe to Lucifer and back. She was wearing big goggles and purple rubber gloves. Apparently there were a couple of lab tests ongoing because she was holding a test tube with some clear liquid in her hand, waving it exuberantly.

"Apologies, Ms. Lopez. I was held up at LUX.” Lucifer gave her a charming smile, while leaning against the door frame with crossed feet.

Chloe was far away from looking as relaxed and casual as Lucifer was. With crossed arms over her chest she was standing in the small lab, shoulders straightened way too hard.

"Alright." Ella turned to her, placing the test tube in a holder on the table. “I was able to take some fingerprints from the dead man‘s body and I compared them with our database. It looks like the young man‘s name is Paul Elliot, nineteen. He lived in Hawthorne.” She nodded towards the computer screen. "Does this name ring a bell, Lucifer?" the forensic scientist asked, pointing to the digital photo.

"As I said yesterday, I don't know this man and I‘ve never seen him before," Lucifer said vehemently. "Whoever had thrown this body at my doorstep must have done a lousy job."

Chloe leaned forward and studied the information on the screen. "Hm, some short-term arrests for theft and drug use, but no noticeable activity in the past three years. He didn‘t seem to be involved in any gang activity recently.”

“It would have been a completely stupid idea.” Ella reached for a tray. "The first autopsy results were sent to me this morning, and oh my god! This Paul has kidney stones as big as golf balls. Even if he still was alive, he would have died anyway during the next two months.”

Chloe's gaze wandered from Ella to Lucifer, and she winced immediately. Her partner was watching her carefully. His sheer presence made her shiver. Memories of his devilish existence resurfaced. Memories about those deep red eyes that burned her mind and left a trace of emotional devastation.

"Chloe?" Ella asked, worried.

The Detective was torn out of her temporary stiffness.

"Um." She cleared her throat, trying to redirect the attention to the murder. "If you are saying Mr. Elliot would have died soon it confirms the suspicion that he might have shot himself after all.“

Ella nodded. "Yes, that's what I thought first too."

"And why should someone kill himself and then another human put him at my doorstep? That doesn't give a conclusive picture,” Lucifer remarked thoughtfully.

"Maybe the suicide victim and the one moving him knew each other," Chloe suggested.

"It's definitely not a suicide," Ella said quickly, drawing attention again. “I took a closer look at the victim's hand and found a slight bruise on the right index finger, which confirms that someone must have applied pressure from the outside. Somebody definitely helped pulling the trigger of the weapon we found at LUX. Ergo, no suicide."

"Hm, okay," Chloe said slowly, glancing at Lucifer again. He pulled himself away from the door frame, walking a few steps through the small room, his hands buried in his suit pockets. "What else do we know about Mr. Elliot? Any background information that will help us create a first motive or killer profile? ”

Ella shrugged; her long ponytail started to bob slightly. "He had no personal valuables with him, but I found this around his neck." The forensic scientist reached for a bagged item on the lab table, lifting it up.

Chloe tilted her head. It was a chain with a silver cross. The bottom corner was obviously broken off because the shape wasn‘t complete.

"Magnificent! Another person idolizing my father,” Lucifer grumbled contemptuously.

Lucifer's father, aka _God_! Chloe's eyes widened in shock. Her heartbeat accelerated and she had a hard time calming down again. How the hell would she ever feel normal in his presence when the slightest comment upset her?

Suddenly Chloe became uncomfortably aware that both Lucifer and Ella were watching her with confusion. She could see a hint of concern in Lucifer's dark brown eyes, but he immediately hid his feelings, putting on an exaggerated smile. "All right, Detective! May I suggest we sniff around in Mr. Elliot‘s private affairs? ”

Chloe knew what Lucifer was referring to, and the thought of spending the day with him and searching through the victim's apartment troubled her.

What was she thinking? It was clear that sooner or later she would have to be alone with Lucifer to solve the case. Unfortunately, her mind hadn't dealt with her partner further than to this point and was now panicking with full force. Painfully her fingernails dug into her upper arms.

Chloe glanced at Lucifer. He tilted his head and was watching her with a hopeful look, waiting for her approval. She bit her tongue, trying to articulate the words he wanted to hear, but the underlying fear laced her throat.

"I’ll run some more tests and see if I can find anything else that would be helpful," Ella said. She hadn't noticed the sudden mood change between the two of them and was happily scurrying through her lab.

With difficulty Chloe swallowed the lump in her throat. She wanted to face her fear! She wanted things to be normal again between them.

"Then let's go," she finally croaked in a voice that sounded strange and hollow even to her own ears. Immediately she could spot a depressed look in Lucifer's eyes. Her current behavior had offended him again, even if he didn't try to show it. It hurt him that she was afraid of him. Unfortunately, Chloe had absolutely no idea how to get rid of those feelings in his presence. It felt like they were both caught in an emotional vicious cycle that neither of them were able to break - not even the Devil himself.


	4. The fine line between denial and acceptance

With hands folded in his lap, Lucifer Morningstar was sitting in the passenger seat of the police car while Chloe was driving them both to the victim's apartment, the steering wheel clutched with an iron grip. Her knuckles were already turning white and Lucifer had actually feared for a few moments that the strength of her grip might pull the steering wheel loose.

Of course, it was a clear indication of her nervous tension. Together with her slightly widened blue eyes and her stiff, completely unnatural posture, the detective looked as if she was on the verge of having another panic attack. There was no denying that she was still afraid of him. The mere thought hurt and so he tried to bury it under a thick layer of indifference far away in the corners of his mind.

Restlessly Lucifer shifted on his seat and rearranged his legs in the narrow footwell. The drive had been going on for a few minutes now and the stifling silence was quite disturbing. Once again the devil glanced at Chloe. He didn’t know what to say or what she wanted to hear from him. During their short conversation at the crime scene, the detective had mentioned that she wasn‘t interested in what he had to say and that she wouldn‘t be able to handle any attempt of an explanation.

To escape that uncomfortable silence, Lucifer's hand slid to the car radio to search for a suitable rock station and to leaven the mood. He didn't get to turn the little wheel because Chloe winced at his rapid movement.

He froze.

"Pardon me, Detective," Lucifer murmured tonelessly, pulling his hand back. Her refusal pierced his heart like a pointed arrow. Over and over again she showed him with her non-verbal behavior that she was seeing just the same in him as the rest of humanity - a monster that she should be afraid of. The bitter knowledge shook him to his very core. He didn't expect strangers or his miserable family to understand, but Chloe Decker wasn't just _anyone_. The detective should have known better, and yet this knowledge seemed to be largely banished from her consciousness. What did she see in him when all she could currently show towards him was fear and angst? But maybe that form of rejection was exactly what he deserved after everything that had happened in the past few weeks. Maybe it was his punishment for killing a human.

"Never mind," Chloe croaked, falling into another silence.

Linda had advised him to be careful and to give her the space she needed to process his identity and everything that came in hand with it. He wanted to give her this form of freedom and it didn't matter either what it was doing to him in the process. The mere thought of losing her forever was so overwhelming that Lucifer preferred to endure the pain and the rejection. He couldn‘t lose her, he didn‘t _dare_ to lose her!

So he kept silent, staring out of the police car instead. Behind a noise barrier, he discovered some palm trees and flat roofs that passed by in a moderate speed, announcing that they were leaving the urban core. They were heading south on Route 405. The traffic was heavy, and they were only making slow progress.

His hands were restless, leading Lucifer to finger at his cufflinks. He felt edgy. His thoughts were rolling over and over, always coming back to the one woman next to him. Once more he shifted uneasily on his seat. His hand was running over his well-groomed three-day beard. He glanced over at Chloe, who seemed to be frozen in a stiff posture.

The charged atmosphere between them reached unnatural proportions, similar to gigantic heavy cumulonimbus clouds, which were about to chase the first lightnings down to the ground, starting a violent thunderstorm.

To his surprise - and he couldn't believe it was happening – Chloe was the first to crash under its load. "Lucifer, I..." she started bumpy, hesitating. It seemed to become a new habit of hers not to finish sentences.

"Yes, Detective?" Expectantly Lucifer turned to her. He knew he had to be patient with her. Linda had mentioned it often enough in their last sessions.

"I ..." She paused again.

Unfortunately, patience wasn‘t one of his strong suits. A short look at her cramped profile with that desperate expression made him lose his painstakingly held poise.

"Deary me!“ he snapped at her. "Is this how it’s going to be between us from now on? You standing next to me like a frightened damsel in distress, not being able to talk to me properly?” 

Chloe winced at the harshness in his tone while the car drifted dangerously far over the middle lane markings. She didn't take her eyes off the road though, immediately getting the car back under control.

"I don't like that either!" she yelled at him. Apparently, her own exasperation had made her find her voice again. "I'll try! I'm really trying to deal with this, Lucifer. Unfortunately there‘s no instruction on the Internet that tells you what to do if your partner turns out to be the...”

She couldn't bring herself to utter the word.

"Ruler of Hell?" Lucifer helped her out bitterly.

She barely nodded, biting her lip. "It's just... I want..." Cursing, she let out the air between her teeth. "I just would like everything to be the same as before."

"You mean catching killers together while my talk about the devil was just a metaphor for you?"

Chloe nodded; her eyes still fixed on the street.

"And how may I help you to maintain this illusion?" he asked, contrite.

"I don't know... Maybe it’s best not to talk about what happened the other day and focus on the murder case instead.”

Lucifer's eyes widened slightly as her words sunk in. Was she aware of what she was asking of him? That he should give up a part of his personality in her presence. Did she seriously just ask him to lie about his identity and pretend to be someone else for her?

"Detective," he started uneasily, but when he was turning towards her, he spotted all that exaggerated uncertainty in her eyes. It made him swallow his protest.

"I know I’m asking a lot," she finally murmured. "It's just... I can't handle it right now. What I saw... what it means. I just need time.”

“I see,” Lucifer said stiffly. Thoughts and memories began to spin in his head. Their conversation on the roof terrace popped back into the foreground, breaking him from the inside. 

_I was afraid. Afraid that you want me because you only know certain sides of me. That if you‘d see me, all of me, you’d run away._

His fears had come true. Chloe Decker knew about both sides of him now; she’d seen who he really was, and she‘d fled. She was still fleeing in a way, considering that she was blocking herself from the truth and trying to supplant it. 

_Chloe ... I'm the devil._

_No, you are not… Not to me._

Was everything she‘d told him on that roof terrace a lie? Did she really mean any of it seriously? Her current behavior was hurting him deeply, but he hid his feelings, putting on a superficial smile. What other choice did he have?

"Well then, Detective," he said in a high-pitched voice, fulfilling her wish. "What are we going to do to find the killer who dropped a dead body in front of my club?"

It took Chloe a long time to respond to his attempt to distract her, although it was exactly what she’d asked him minutes ago. No devil talk. No divine secrets and revelations. Only the two of them solving a murder together.

Chloe left the Route 405 and followed the signs to Hawthorne. "I've been thinking about it for a while. So far, we have no real traces. Ella didn‘t find any fingerprints of the killer on the dead man’s body and since the body was moved afterwards, we don‘t even know about the actual crime scene. The only hint we currently have is you.”

Lucifer leaned back in his seat, staring out of the windshield. "But as I‘ve mentioned several times before to Ms. Lopez and you, I don't know the dead man."

Chloe actually seemed to be calming down a little, for she gave him a quick, thoughtful look. "But you most likely have a connection to the killer. Is there anyone in the past few weeks who has threatened you or who wanted to harm you?“

The next sentence slipped over his lips before he could stop the words from coming out. "You mean, apart from the lieutenant who shot at us?"

Chloe immediately tensed.

"Pardon me," he said quickly afterwards. "Nobody else caught my interest. I mean I have a lot of enemies. A lot of people come in line here.”

With wide eyes, Chloe looked at him. He could literally see how her human mind was trying to cope with his allusion.

"Lucifer," she replied angrily.

He turned to her with an eyebrow raised.

"Stop doing that! It’s not helping me at all."

For a brief moment, his artificial smile dropped. "You asked for it, Detective."

“Yes, but that doesn't mean... I mean... Damnit!" she swore angrily before falling silent completely.

Lucifer sighed when he realized that their conversation was over. He refrained from responding to her half-hearted explanation and gave in to the silence instead. He wasn't sure if it was a good idea to solve this case together if they weren't even able to speak to each other. Their drive had just turned out to be a pure hell trip.

 

********

 

Thoughtfully Chloe Decker stared at the white apartment front door. Lucifer and she had finally arrived in Hawthorne after a never-ending car ride. It was a district southwest of the city center with a mix of detached houses and larger blocks of flats. The district was known for its gang crime activities and was one of the parts of Los Angeles that people preferred to avoid, especially during the darker hours. In any case, the crime statistics had shown a significant increase in robberies and homicides over the recent years.

"Given the shabby impression, I wouldn't be surprised if the next killer is waiting for us right behind that door," Lucifer mentioned, wrinkling his nose.

Chloe gave him a quick glance. His appearance looked very strange in the shabby hallway. They were standing in one of the apartment buildings where the plaster was already crumbling off the yellowed walls. Various stains on a dark green carpet gave the impression that no one had picked up a vacuum cleaner for years. So it wasn‘t very surprising that Lucifer in his bespoke designer suit made a disgusting comment about the cleanliness of the house.

She decided to ignore him and to study the door lock instead. Unfortunately, Mr. Elliot hadn't carried a key with him, forcing them to break in now.

With a slightly uncomfortable feeling in her stomach, she turned to Lucifer and gestured to the door with a weak nod. He looked back at her with his warm, dark brown eyes. Eyes that were so familiar to her, and yet sending a cold shiver down her spine.

"Um," Chloe stammered awkwardly when he didn't understand the silent request. "Some help would be great."

He stared at her, completely perplexed.

"The lock?" she finally hissed rougher than intended. "Please just do your thing! Normally you always crack locks, ignoring all forms of search warrants.“

Lucifer looked tense and alarmed for a moment. She saw that he was well aware of her ambivalent attitude right now. After all, she‘d asked him in the police car to not talk about anything devil related and yet she demanded that he should use one of his inhuman skills to help them.

Did she want him to show her his second face or not? Chloe felt a slight pain blossoming in her head at the mere thought of his devil side.

Fortunately, Lucifer didn't respond to her questioning behavior and turned to the door, grinning. "It's always a pleasure to help you," he smiled, unlocking the door the next second.

Chloe had often watched his magical hands, but until now she hadn't been aware that there might be something supernatural about his ability. It deeply irritated her. Why should the devil be able to crack doors in Hell?

Swallowing hard, Chloe managed a faint smile as Lucifer opened the door and pointed to the interior.

She stepped past him, ignoring the uncomfortable shudder that ran up her back as she passed the devil far too closely.

In style the apartment hardly differed from the hallway. They were standing in a small living area that was filled with too much stuff. The wallpaper flaked from the once-white walls. Scratched wooden furniture and a filthy sofa formed the heart of the room, looking anything but inviting.

“No killer," Chloe remarked, wrinkling her nose at the penetrating smell that was blowing over to her.

Lucifer stepped next to her, careful to keep some distance. She was very grateful for that little gesture.

"It appears Mr. Elliot urgently needs an interior designer," her partner quipped, and started to look around.

Chloe caught herself rolling her eyes. A behavior that was familiar in his presence and that had a calming effect in a certain way. She took it as a positive sign. Maybe there was a tiny chance that she could do this. Maybe she was able to find a way to deal with Lucifer normally.

The detective grabbed two rubber gloves and put them on. "Let's systematically search the rooms. Perhaps we‘ll find something that reveals more about the victim and helps us set up a profile. Family, friends, work colleagues... ”

She heard Lucifer grumble something incomprehensible, but he complied with his fate, stepping through the living area.

They spent the next few minutes in silence. Chloe couldn't find a single photo that would have helped her identify family members or friends. She searched every chest of drawers and closet doors in the living room, checked all surfaces for any noticeable objects that could help her, but only when she went into the tiny bedroom next door she did stop.

Her heartbeat quickened when she saw something on the opposite wall that looked like an altar in a church. Her thoughts rolled over as pictures of Lucifer's devil face, which she’d tried so hard to suppress, were washing up on the surface. 

She‘d never been particularly religious and had never thought much about the biblical stories. Knowing that God actually existed up there, judging, made her shiver. Should she have gone to church regularly in the past few years? Would she go to Hell now because she was skeptical of her religion? And what was about Trixie? Chloe had never insisted that her daughter attend Sunday Bible school…

"Detective?" Lucifer's voice came to her ear, concerned, but her mind had drifted off too far.

If she really ended in Hell, would Lucifer be there to punish her? The thought of his red eyes created a fear that rushed through her entire body. Her partner, with whom she‘d hunted criminals the recent years, should be her executioner?

"Chloe!" His familiar and yet so strange voice finally got through to her. "Nothing has changed," he tried to calm her down, as if he already suspected in which direction her thoughts had moved.

Nothing had changed? 

_Everything _had fucking changed, but she was unable to shout those words at him. Instead Chloe blinked several times before taking in a deep breath and swallowing her panic. She needed to pull herself together and do her job! Such emotional outbursts wouldn‘t help her at all.__

__So Chloe gave him a half-hearted smile. "I‘m sorry. I was a little gone.” She felt his piercing gaze on her but was unable to return it. Hesitantly she stepped closer to the altar at the foot of the bed to distract herself._ _

__A bronze-colored statue of a crucified Jesus was hanging on the wall, while two thick white candles flanked a Bible on a stone surface._ _

__"Another proof that our victim was quite religious," Chloe concluded. "Most likely a Catholic," she added as she spotted the beginning of a rosary slightly hidden under the Bible._ _

__"This isn‘t new information," Lucifer replied. "The cross chain around his neck was already sign enough."_ _

__Chloe nodded. “But this definitely means he has to be a regular church visitor. He's probably an active member of a local Catholic community nearby.”_ _

__She felt Lucifer approach her from behind. The bedroom was too small and there was little room for maneuvering, so his upper arm brushed her shoulder as he passed._ _

__She winced unintentionally._ _

__The sad glow in his eyes told her he‘d noticed her reaction, but after a blink of an eye all feelings were gone again, hidden behind a thick wall. He turned to the altar._ _

__Chloe stepped aside. The whole day full of emotional ups and downs was draining on her strength. She was really trying to deal with the situation, but no matter what she did, all it took was a wrong word or a wrong move to get her completely off guard. Maybe it wasn't a good idea at all to work with him again._ _

__But it was too late for such kind of thoughts now. And maybe she could take it as a good sign that she‘d managed to mentally survive half the day with the devil, more or less successfully._ _

__"Detective," Lucifer suddenly said in a high voice._ _

__Suspiciously Chloe raised an eyebrow._ _

__"It appears good old Mr. Elliot here used his Bible for quite other things than reading." He turned to her, holding up a small, transparent packet with a white substance in it. “This looks like a nice dose of cocaine. It was hidden between the book pages.”_ _

__He was already opening the sachet, sticking a finger in it when Chloe's initial surprise resolved. "Stop!" she screamed in a hurry, snatching the package out of his fingers. "Don't even think about consuming evidence!"_ _

__Lucifer's grin spoke volumes and she immediately knew that he‘d done it on purpose to lure her out of the reserve._ _

__Contrary to the whole situation, a hesitant smile crept on her lips. "You did that on purpose."_ _

__Lucifer smirked playfully as his hand went to one of his cufflinks, straightening it. "I beg to differ, Darling. Maybe I‘d just like to taste the drug. A nice cocaine trip can be bloody rewarding.”_ _

__Chloe rolled her eyes. "Sometimes you‘re just unbelievable!"_ _

__"Because I know what's good?" he teased charmingly. "As I said, Detective. If you’d ever be interested in having this kind of experience, I am ready and willing to help."_ _

__A feeling of familiarity flowed through Chloe. It gave her courage. Maybe all the old feelings and thoughts about Lucifer hadn’t vanished completely and had just been buried under a thick layer of uncertainty and fear._ _

__Smiling, she stuffed the evidence in her jacket pocket. "Thanks, Lucifer but I refuse. It‘s best to bring the substance to Ella. Maybe she can find out where the drug came from. Although our murder victim hadn‘t had a police record for the last three years, he was still consuming and maybe even dealing with drugs.”_ _

__“The man knows what‘s good,“ Lucifer teased as he grinned back, following her into the living room._ _

__Chloe went for the exit of the apartment. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the years of drug use are linked to his illness. Maybe that's why he has these kidney stones.” She touched her forehead. "But anyway, the most important thing for us now is to find out which church Mr. Elliot is visiting on a regular basis.”_ _

__“With pleasure,” Lucifer murmured sarcastically. "That sounds like a bloody city church tour to me."_ _

__Chloe stepped into the hall, waiting for her partner to follow when suddenly a disturbing thought crossed her mind. Did the devil even enter houses of God? She peeked at her partner. He‘d been in a church before talking to Father Frank without major protests._ _

__The sound of an opening door down the hall caught Chloe's attention, pulling her from her thoughts. A moment later two older women came out of the apartment. With their white hair and slightly bent stance, they both looked very old, at least seventy or even older. One woman wore a headscarf while the other supported herself with a walking stick._ _

__Hurriedly she left Lucifer behind, walking towards those women. "Excuse me," she started, pointing to her badge on her belt. "LAPD, we have to ask you a few questions."_ _

__Lucifer followed her and stopped in front of the women. Chloe noticed how the two fell for his charms from one second to the next. Once again, it was proof that Lucifer attracted women of all ages like a magnet. It wasn‘t really surprising though. Her partner was the devil, a master of sins and seduction - at least, she‘d read that over and over again during her internet research. Of course, all the female population were finding themselves at his feet._ _

__She swallowed hard, while banishing the thoughts about her partner from her head and smiling at the faces of the older women. "Can you tell us something about Mr. Elliot? You seem to be his neighbors."_ _

__The woman in the headscarf frowned. “We are neighbors indeed, but nobody in this house has a lot of contact with the other people around them. I hardly know Mr. Elliot. He seems very withdrawn to me, very taciturn and quiet."_ _

__"And he doesn't think much of greeting us when we pass," the other woman pointed out._ _

__"Have you noticed anything unusual lately? Have you seen or heard anything strange?”_ _

__The two women shook their heads. "As I mentioned, we hardly know each other," the lady with the headscarf said. "Except for the one time last year when his car didn't start and he asked us to drive him to a church on Sunday, we didn't really communicate with him."_ _

__Bingo!_ _

__Before Chloe could open her mouth to ask further questions, Lucifer raised his voice. "Do you know which church you drove him to?"_ _

__The woman with the headscarf looked thoughtfully at her roommate. "Do you remember where we drove him? That was a long time ago."_ _

__"It might have been the _All Saints_ Church. It's very close from here,” the other woman answered._ _

__Chloe shot her partner a meaningful look. If that wasn't a promising start. They thanked the two women and stepped out of the front door a moment later. Chloe had her arms crossed over her chest and was chewing her lower lip thoughtfully. This murder still seemed suspicious to her. What did Mr. Elliot have to do with Lucifer and was it a coincidence that the victim appeared to be a strong supporter of his faith?_ _

__"Detective, are you ready to go to church with me?" Lucifer stepped past her and turned around. She knew the question was meant jokingly, but she heard the cautious tone in his voice anyway. Earlier, she‘d wondered if the devil would visit a church. But after her panic attack in the victim's apartment, it might be appropriate to ask herself that question. It had emotionally torn the ground from her feet when she saw the small altar in the bedroom. Entering a real church was a very different matter. It meant she had to deal with God and everything that came in hand with it._ _

__Once again she realized that there was no point in denying or suppressing things. She‘d asked Lucifer for a favor neither of them would be able to keep. How could she have demanded that he‘d suppress a side of himself that he‘d willingly shown her over the past few years? She wanted them both to act as they did before the Pierce incident. However, there was a huge problem with it. Chloe knew now. She knew that every allusion of the devil was meant seriously. How should she ever be able to ignore that fact?_ _

__She wished so much that everything would go back to the way it had been before, but the longer she thought about it and the longer she was around Lucifer, the more she realized that this was a hopeless struggle. There was no going back! Not this time._ _

__"No, I'm not ready," she answered quietly. "But I don't have a choice either."_ _

__The concerned expression in his eyes made her heart clench. It was all too clear that she‘d hurt him again with her honest answer. Walking forward hurt a lot and she wasn't sure if they would survive the steps ahead of them, unharmed._ _


End file.
